Remembrance
by LoveBug53
Summary: Russel brings Dug along with him to go visit Carl and Ellie's graves. "There you go, Mr. Fredrickson. You finally have your place next to your darling Ellie, forever." Rated T for character death.


Here's another one-shot written by me :)  
Seriously, there really need to be more fanfics for this movie... oh well.  
Anyways, here it is!

'Up' belongs to the Disney/Pixar Company

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Russel stood outside his home, watching the clouds as they moved across the sky. He silently stared at each in wonder, pondering over how they were able to form such shapes. It marveled him how some would become elephants, while others became cars. Some even formed other animals such as dogs and horses. For a moment he imagined that he even saw a dragon.

He watched one cloud in particular as it began to recede and then reshape itself, forming something that he couldn't quite decipher. Russel stared at it closely, and was surprised when a sudden dot of color came by his line of vision. It was a balloon.

The balloon floated gently upward in the silence. He watched it rise into the air, slowly carried up by the wind. Disappointment filled him when the balloon finally vanished into a large, white cloud. He couldn't help himself when he thought of his friend. The balloon reminded him of his friend, Carl. Oh, how he had missed the old fellow.

The memories made Russel have the sudden need to visit them. He needed to see Ellie and Carl.

"Come on, Dug. Let's go for a walk!"

He patted the side of his leg and his loyal dog came to him as commanded, crying out joyously as he trotted towards him, "Oh, boy! Oh, Boy! I do so ever love walks!"

Russel smiled when Dug stopped at his feet and rubbed the top of his head against his knee. Dug licked Russel's hand in excitement.

"Oh, boy!"

Russel laughed loudly, his whole being shaking, before placing one of his hands on Dug's head and patting him fondly. He breathed in to stop his laughter and said, "Well I am glad that you're so excited. We're going to go visit someone, if that is alright with you."

Dug wagged his tail and pointed his nose at him. "Oh, yes, master! Let's go!"

Russel sighed happily and began walking down the side of his street, his feet carrying him towards Open Hearts Cemetery with his dog at his heels. The boy turned his head to his left a little as he walked, sad that in the house that still stood there across the street, a great man had once lived there.

It was only a couple years old, because it had been a new house when he had bought it. Sadly, Mr. Frederickson, the man who had owned it, had ended up not living long enough to become a permanent resident.

Dug whimpered to Russel when they neared the graveyard. The boy winced in response, feeling bad that he had brought him there. He reached down to him and placed a comforting hand on his side. Russel knew that Dug hated this place because he could smell the area. Dogs have very keen senses, and Dug could smell the scent of death. He could feel the feelings of remorse and foreboding that hovered over everything.

Russel walked passed the gate, thinking that Dug was still behind him, but turned around mid-stride when he couldn't hear the dog's footsteps and saw Dug sitting down on his hindquarters, a worried expression on his face. Sighing, Russel retraced his steps toward Dug and stooped down onto his knees in front of him.

"You don't have to come any further if you want. Just sit hear and wait for me." He put his hands to the ground to push himself up, but stopped when he heard Dug whimper again and his collar yell out, "Wait, master!"

Russel looked back down at his dog and sighed. He didn't want to say this; he knew that he'd regret it later. He breathed in again and calmly asked him, "Dug, would you come with me if I carried you in?"

Dug jumped up from the ground and his tail wagged, glad that he had gotten what he had wanted. The dog knew that he'd be able to face anything if he had his master to protect him. No zombie from the ground was getting this retriever!

Russel put his arms under Dug, using every ounce of strength that he held within him just to hold him up.

"You are heavy, you know that?"

Dug licked his cheek in response, his tail still moving a mile a minuet.

Russel sighed to himself, grateful that they had finally made it to the grave site and that he could finally put down the heavy dead weight in his hands. "Okie-doki, there boy. I'm letting you down now." He placed Dug onto the ground, who sat there, immediately sniffing at the air. A terrible feeling entered his stomach. "M-Master?"

He wasn't talking to Russel, that was for sure.

Dug turned to the ground, as the very tiny scent of denture cream and musky cologne hit him. It smelt old. The dog whimpered and bent down to place his head on the top layer that covered the place where he laid lifeless.

"Oh…master."

Russel felt a tear come to his eyes and he didn't even bother trying to wipe at it. No one was there to see him cry, to see him so lost; not even his own mother had seen him. He looked at the two grave stones that stood short, but oh, so tall above the ground. On one he read:

_Ellie 'Marie' Fredrickson  
__Born: 8-12-1946  
__Died: 3-16-2002  
__In memory of a beautiful and wonderful wife. May she live on in peace having many adventures in the heavens._

Russel smiled, before his eyes turned to the other tombstone. He read the letters on it in silence.

_Carl Fredrickson Jr.  
__Born: 1-23-1947  
__Died: 1-24-2012__  
__In memory of a loving, gracious man, whose most precious goal was to live his life to the fullest and to always be by his Ellie's side. May he live long in the heavens having many adventures with his darling Ellie._

Russel made his hand into a tight fist. He sniffled and a somber smile came to his face. Tears began streaming down his face. "There you go, Mr. Fredrickson", he looked down at them with wet eyes, "You are finally with your Ellie. You can finally stay by her side." He sniffled again, finally reaching up to wipe at his teary face.

Dug looked up at him and softly called out to him. "Master?" The voice that came out of his collar sounded soft, like a whisper. "Are you okay, Master? Should we leave?"

Russel sniffled and smiled down at him. He took in a shaky breath and answered him, "Yeah. We should go."

The feeling in him was getting to hard to handle. His heart was hurting and it felt hard to breath from his throat closing.

Russel waved at the graves, a forced smile on his face. Even if the boy had tried to hide it, he still missed Carl. The old man had been one of his only friends.

Russel turned away from the graves and slowly made his way across the many other graves toward the cemetery's gates. Dug followed obediently after him, deciding that now wasn't the time to be complaining about a plausible zombie attack.

Russel had to find something to get his mind off of them. But what?

The young Asian stopped in his tracks and he looked down at his dog. He smiled at him and asked him, "Wanna go to the park?"

Dug turned his head up and his tongue slipped out. It ended up landing onto his cheek. "Oh, boy!"

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Don't forget to review if you liked it! I love feedback, cuz you guys are so awesome for reading!  
I want to know what ya'll think ;)


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